A heavy construction vehicle punctured a high-pressure natural gas main in Palmdale Wednesday morning, releasing a roaring flow of gas that forced the evacuation of more than 40 houses and slightly injured a worker. Souther California Gas Co. workers using a heavy-duty hydraulic clamp closed off the six-inch distribution line shortly before 2 p.m., about six hours after the rupture near 10th Street West and Beechdale Drive.

An underground pipeline ruptured during a pressure test Wednesday morning, showering the Golden State Freeway with water containing green dye and oil residue that closed the southbound lanes for two hours near the Los Angeles County line. Authorities said the spill from the pipe, which was buried in a ditch alongside the freeway, caused no accidents or environmental damage. The 5:15 a.m.

A Glendale mechanic was burned and a Mobil service station was destroyed Friday when a gas tank he had removed from a car ignited, touching off a blaze that sent a towering pillar of black smoke over the city. Glendale Fire Department spokesman Chris Gray said Albert Sanchez, 46, apparently dropped the gas tank, breaking a shop light that caused a spark that ignited fumes in the service bay. Sanchez was treated at Glendale Memorial Hospital for first- and second-degree burns on his forearms.

A 25-year-old construction worker suffered minor injuries Thursday after being trapped for more than two hours in a cave-in at a Glendale hotel construction site where a similar accident in August killed another worker. Two dozen firefighters and city crews worked carefully to free John Jehlik of Long Beach, who was trapped chest-deep in dirt at the bottom of a 15-foot-deep sinkhole on Glenoaks Boulevard. On Aug.

Eight workers were injured Monday when the roof of a commercial building in Bell Gardens collapsed during construction. Bell Gardens Fire Capt. Jim Crawford said the workers were laying a 40-foot section of the roof over a framework of steel and concrete when the frame toppled and they were struck by falling lumber. The building is part of a 17-acre commercial center under construction on the corner of Eastern and Florence avenues.

A series of fiery explosions rocked a light industrial complex in Santa Clarita early Thursday, blowing off part of a roof, jolting firefighters awake miles away and causing an estimated $2.75 million in damage to six businesses, authorities said. No one was injured in the spectacular 1 a.m. blaze. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials said it may be related to a faulty natural gas line. Firefighters extinguished the fire at 26821 Ruether Ave. in about 40 minutes.

Three people were injured, two critically, in a fire that broke out Thursday in a hydrogen-fed heating unit at a Paramount refinery, a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman said. About 60 firefighters, including a hazardous materials team and a helicopter unit, responded. The two severely burned victims were rushed by paramedics to Charter Suburban Hospital. A third person with minor injuries was taken to Downey Community Hospital.

Authorities ordered residents along the Santa Fe Springs-La Mirada border to evacuate their homes after a cloud of hydrochloric acid was reported Wednesday evening. A tank containing 4,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid began leaking about 8:30 p.m. in an industrial area at Marquardt Avenue and Borate Street in Santa Fe Springs and evacuations of an estimated 1,000 people were ordered in neighborhoods north of Rosecrans Avenue and east of Marquardt, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies said.

A road crew repairing a street in Rowland Heights accidentally ruptured a gas line Thursday, forcing the evacuation of several homes and sending students at a nearby elementary school into the cafeteria for safety. There were no injuries or significant damage caused by the accident at about 2:20 p.m. in the 2600 block of South Norsewood Drive, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Sgt. Larry Wineinger.

A construction worker operating a backhoe in Bellflower Wednesday broke a 1-inch-diameter natural gas line, forcing the evacuation of about 20 apartment residents. The mishap occurred shortly after 10 a.m. at 9215 Alondra Blvd., said county Fire Department spokesman John Lenihan. There were no injuries. A section of Alondra Boulevard was blocked to traffic, and Southern California Gas Co. workers were sent to repair the break, a gas company spokeswoman said.